Pragmatics

According to a recent study, a New Russian Politeness phenomena (NRP) has surfaced over the past thirty years. In large Russian cities, since the beginning of the 1990's, changes in pragmatic behavior have been observed. These pragmatic changes include forms of address that have changed, since the the word "comrade" is not longer used as an address an address in Russia, as well as a decrease in the use of patronyms. However, the main focus of the study is on the pragmatic difference in verbal interactions during service encounters, since shop assistants are required to be polite towards customers. The politeness strategies exhibited are very different from those used in Soviet times. Also, signs and labels that contain apologies and pleas for understanding in cases of inconvenience are a relatively recent occurrence in the NRP.

This rise in Russian politeness is largely due to globalization and the influence of the western world. When westerners establish businesses in Russia, the owners of that business have guidelines that his employees need to follow. The rise in politeness is a business strategy to make customers feel welcome and accommodated in a store.

The nature of politeness has also changed greatly since the 1980's. In Soviet times customers had to persuade shop assistants to part with their goods, so they demonstrated politeness strategies towards the store owner. Nowadays, customers have the option to satisfy their demands elsewhere, and it is now the shop assistants who have to make use of politeness strategies.

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